Tag Archives: cooking

I tried out the a new shortcut to an old bibingka (rice cake) favorite today and I must say, it didn’t turn out half bad at all! This glutinous rice cake is called Bibingkang Malagkit in Tagalog but in Ilocano, we usually call it Inkiwar which roughly translates to ‘something stirred’. When my grandmother used to make this rice bibingka, it usually … Read entire article »

The Girl (my youngest daughter) has been on a bread making spree this summer as she also worked on perfecting her pizza. She made four more loaves of bread yesterday so today, I took the half loaf left over from last weekend’s bread making session and made this baked french toast which my husband says is the same thing as … Read entire article »

I love Yucon Gold Potatoes! It’s almost the only potatoes I ever use in the kitchen anymore. I may buy the occasional red or white potatoes especially if they’re on sale or if a particular recipe calls for them but my go-to potato is the yucon gold.

It could be a bit pricey at times but I think it’s worth it. The flavor is so much richer and who can resist that pretty golden color!

Here’s a couple of recipes using these golden potatoes. Perfect now that the weather is again cooler.

This is one of our favorite soups, oxtail soup. It is a very simple soup packed with flavor and vitamins. It is a very versatile soup and you can change up the type of vegetables you add to it. If oxtails is not your thing, you can use another cut of beef to your liking (beef short ribs is very good for this dish). My eldest daughter loves oxtails though, and this is one of the favorite ways she likes it. … Read entire article »

This is based on the Filipino Afritada recipe which my family has gotten to simply calling chicken stew. Which, basically, is what it is. I like it because, well, you can only have fried chicken so often (their favorite), and this has both starch and vegetables and a hearty gravy all in one pot so it’s perfect … Read entire article »

I do love to cook, and I do love to try out new things. Lately though, it’s been a stretch to accomplish either of those things. I guess you can tell from the frequency of my food posts. Take for instance, chicken. I have been having such a love/hate relationship with chicken especially as some people in my house think that chicken should almost always be fried. Well I couldn’t stand to fry another damned chicken … Read entire article »

The big news this morning is Southern food maven Paula Deen’s announcement on the Today Show that she has type 2 diabetes. She’s had it for a while, apparently, and now she’s also come out as a spokesperson for a diabetes drug.

The media and everywhere online have been giving her a lot of flack about it. Some even go as far as to insinuate that she somehow deserves it given all the “un-healthy” food she promotes.

I feel bad for her. Truthfully, I enjoy watching her show! Some of her recipes, especially the extreme ones like the cheesburger on Krispy Kreme donut leave that queasy, sick feeling in my throat just watching it, but hey, it’s amusing in a morbid kind of way. That’s why I watch it. It’s like all you rubber neckers who clog up the highways whenever there’s a wreck. We all slow down to take a look even if it makes us cringe. Admit it.

I liked watching Paula Deen because she seemed to genuinely love food. Relished it! You can see it in her body. At least she’s not matchstick skinny and pretending to enjoy all the rich, calorie laden food she cooks. You can tell the woman eats what she cooks! No crime in that.

I do, however, don’t agree with this new venture she’s going into as a paid spokesperson for the diabetes drug company. She will also be promoting ways to manage diabetes through healthier diet and exercise on a website sponsored by the drug company. It’s all and good, I suppose. Maybe someone will see it, take heed and make a difference in their lifestyle.

Personally though, I would probably have had more respect for Paula if she had just told everyone to “Kiss my grits!”Continue reading →

We went to Walmart this past weekend and while there, I decided to check if they had any Olivari Olive Oil. I received some coupons and a sample of the Extra Virgin Olive oil for the giveaway that I’m hosting on my food blog and their literature says that they also make flavored olive oils. So that’s what I was looking forward to getting with my coupons, and so far Walmart is the only store that carries this brand. I was disappointed to find though, that the Walmart store we went to only carried the ‘Classic’ Olive Oil. So I got a bottle and held on to my other coupon to get a flavored one when I find it.